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Business: The Supreme Court has directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to trace the absconding co-founder of Mahadev betting app and ensure his presence. The accused in the betting case has fled from Dubai to some unknown place, after which the court has given this direction. The court said that the accused in such cases cannot be allowed to treat the courts and investigating agencies as a game. A bench of Justices MM Sundaresh and Satish Chandra Sharma took serious note of accused Ravi Uppal’s escape from law enforcement agencies and said, “This has shocked our conscience and the court has to do something about it.”
Uppal reportedly fled from Dubai to unknown place
Uppal, who was evading law enforcement agencies in India, has reportedly fled from Dubai to an undisclosed location. After this, the UAE authorities have stopped the extradition proceedings against him. The bench said, “For gangsters like him, courts and investigating agencies are mere instruments of play. We have to do something about this.” The bench directed the ED to search and detain him. “We will reject his plea. Find out how to take him into custody. It seems he is quite adept at moving from one place to another,” the court said on Tuesday.
ED’s lawyer said – It seems Uppal fled to Dubai
The top court was hearing a petition by Uppal in which he has challenged the March 22 order of the Chhattisgarh High Court. Uppal was directed by the court to attend the hearing of the money laundering case pending in the lower court of Raipur. Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, told the court that Uppal appeared to have fled from Dubai, where he was detained in 2023.
Raju said accused involved in financial crimes often try to flee to places that do not have extradition treaties with India. “You can be extradited from the UAE, because India has an extradition treaty with them. So he might have gone to places like the British Virgin Islands, because India does not have an extradition treaty with that country,” he said.
The next hearing in the case will be held on November 14.
The bench has fixed November 14 for the next hearing of the case. When Uppal’s lawyer sought time, the bench asked him to persuade him to return to India and face the proceedings. Justice Sundaresh said, “He cannot keep running away all the time. He will have to participate in the process. We are liberal in granting bail. We will consider his bail plea at the appropriate stage.”
The bench asked Raju to examine whether the recent judgment of the Supreme Court, which has allowed investigating agencies to call lawyers representing the accused in exceptional circumstances, can be used to obtain details of people absconding from the law. The top court told Uppal’s lawyer that no more time would be given in this case.
After his arrest, Uppal was released and kept under surveillance.
Uppal was detained in Dubai in December 2023 due to an Interpol red notice. After that, the ED, which is investigating the Mahadev betting app case, started extradition proceedings by writing a letter to the UAE authorities in 2024. UAE authorities later released Uppal but kept him under surveillance.
According to the agencies, Uppal along with his associate Saurabh Chandrakar had started the Mahadev betting app in 2018. This app allowed many platforms and apps to place illegal bets on online games. The investigating agencies have claimed that this scam is worth Rs 6,000 crore and is spread in different states of the country.
Uppal’s associate Chandrakar was arrested in Dubai in October 2024 and an extradition request against him is also still pending. Based on the initial investigation by Chhattisgarh Police, former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel was also made an accused in this case and the case was handed over to CBI for further investigation.
